A few years ago I reviewed the Progrey G150X filter holder, overall I was very impressed with the G150X and have been using it ever since.

My only complaint with the G150X was the size of the lens mounting ring, with the holder removed the ring was quite large and did cause some discomfort when placed in my backpack (F-stop Tilopa) on long hikes. To avoid this I would remove the lens mounting ring for the hike and re-attach it for the shoot, to do this I had to remove the lens from the camera body, something I'd rather not do in the field.

Progrey recently released another holder, the G150Z, which looks similar to the G150X but there are some significant design changes compared to the old holder.

The G150Z is available to suit the Nikkor 14-24, Canon TS-E17, Zeiss 15mm, Tamron 15-30 and the Sigma 20mm. If you have more than one of these lenses you can purchase the mounting rings separately.

Lenses with thread sizes that are not listed above will require a traditional step up ring to attach one of the threaded adapters.

This review will only cover the G150Z for the Nikkor 14-24, I haven't used any of the other mounting options as I rarely use any lens other than the 14-24.

The holder is supplied with a padded pouch which has compartments for the various bits and pieces.

The new G150Z on the left, the older G150X on the right.

The biggest change over the G150X is the lens mounting ring setup, which is now much smaller and no longer requires the lens to be removed from the camera body to attach or remove the filter system.

The G150Z mounting ring (to suit Nikkor 14-24)

G150Z ring on the left, G150X ring on the right.

To attach the mounting ring you just slide it over the front of the lens and align the 4 tabs with the corners of the lens hood. Tighten the silver locking ring and you're done.

The 4 tabs that fit into the corners of the lens hood are now shaped to fit the lens better, the old design used rectangular tabs which didn't fit quite as good and could potentially leave marks on the lens after a while.

The smaller lens mounting ring addresses my main complaint with the old filter holder, it now fits in my bag without the bulge in the middle of the back.

I leave the lens ring mounted on the lens most of the time, the only time I need to remove it is when I'm shooting astro and need to use a lens heater strap.

To attach the holder to the lens mounting ring you line up the two arrows then turn the lens/ring until the arrow is aligned with the silver button on the holder. You will hear a click and see the silver button pop out, the holder is now locked onto the mounting ring.

To remove the holder simply depress the silver button and turn the lens in the other direction until the two arrows are aligned.

Filter guides.

The G150Z includes 2 sets of filter guides. out of the box it is set up to take 2 filters, the other set can take 3 filters.

Unlike the G150X which required a hex tool to change the guides, the new guides have large knurled knobs on the screws that can be unscrewed by hand.

I have always used the triple filter guides and have not noticed any vignetting. The guides hold the filters rather tight, which means no chance of the filters sliding out the bottom of the holder and smashing onto rocks/disappearing into the ocean etc.

There is a lens element protector included which slots into the filter guides, it's made from 2mm thick steel. I generally don't use this as I remove the holder when the camera is in the backpack, when the holder is mounted to the lens I'm shooting. Some bag setups will let you leave the holder mounted while the camera is in the bag, in which case the protector would come in handy.

When using my backpack I leave the mounting ring attached and use the neoprene cover that came with the Lee SW150 holder. With my bag setup I don't need a hard lens cap, just something to keep the element clean. With the mounting ring in place the Nikkor lens cap won't fit onto the lens.

The neoprene cover from the Lee SW150 is a perfect fit for the G150Z mounting ring. This is made by Optech USA, I don't know if it is available on its own.

The lock screw for rotating the holder on the lens is much bigger and easier to work with than the one on the G150X, especially in cold conditions with gloves on.

Another change I noticed from the G150X is the placement of the foam gasket, they have moved it from the face of the holder to the rear of the protective plate.

G150Z with the gasket on the protective plate

G150x with the gasket on the face of the holder

Some of my resin filters have developed a slight curve, possibly from being squashed up against something else in my camera bag. With the gasket on the face of the g150X holder there was no chance of scratching a filter against the holder when inserting it as it could not make contact with the metal.

Unfortunately this is not the case with the G150z. As you can see from the image below, the curved filter can make contact with the holder, I wasn't aware of this the first time I inserted it and ended up with a light scratch right down the middle of the filter.

I tried to find some neoprene tape to make a gasket for the holder but couldn't find anything thin enough locally. I ended up using a razor blade to carefully cut the gasket away from the protective plate and then stuck it onto the face of the holder. It retained enough of the adhesive backing to stick to the holder without glue. The gasket sits in a recess on the protective plate so you wont be able to get completely under the adhesive backing with the blade.

With this gasket in place there is a perfect seal the whole way around the filter, I tested it with 16 stops of NDs in bright sunlight and got no light leaks. I didn't do the same test before installing this gasket, but I did do a bit of shooting with 6 - 9 stops of NDs and had no leaks.

Gasket transferred from the protective plate to the face of the holder.

I use the F-Stop Tilopa backpack, and leave the lens mounting ring attached to the lens. Setting up the filter holder only requires placing the holder onto the mounting ring and turning it until it locks into place, then insert the filter(s). This is extremely quick and easy, very similar to setting up the Lee SW150 (assuming the mounting ring is left on the lens, fitting the Lee mounting ring requires lens removal).

Once the holder is setup on the camera it functions almost exactly the same as the older G150X holder, the only really difference being the lock screw that allows the holder to rotate, the placement makes it easier to get to and the increased size makes it easier to grip (especially when wearing gloves).

Progrey 0.9 soft GND.

Once the holder is setup on the camera it functions almost exactly the same as the older G150X holder, the only really difference being the lock screw that allows the holder to rotate, the placement makes it easier to get to and the increased size makes it easier to grip (especially when wearing gloves).

Resistance to light leaks is excellent, I ran some test shots with A 10stop + 2 3stop ND filters. Even with the sun positioned 90 degrees to the holder I could not force a light leak. In real world shooting conditions i would rarely go past 6 stops of NDs.

Progrey 0.9 soft gnd, Lee 0.9 ND.

I use a 150x150mm (2mm thick) CPL from Cavision with the G150Z (and G150X). If using the G150Z on a lens with a front filter thread you can attach a screw on CPL to the Progrey adapter ring.

Cavision CPL, Lee 0.9 ND.

The G150X was the best filter holder I had used, the only downsides for me were the size of the mounting ring and the need to remove then lens to fit the ring. The G150Z addresses both of these issues, and is a worthy upgrade over the G150X for me.

The only potential negative is the relocation of the gasket material to the protective cover, allowing a bent filter to make contact with the metal surface of the holder, something that is easily fixed, and to be fair - the issue is with the filters themselves, not the holder.

I'm pretty sure this holder will be staying in my landscape bag for a long time, I can't see any room for improvement.

Highly Recommended.

2 xLee 0.9 soft GND, Lee 0.9 ND.

Disclaimer: I was not paid for this review nor was it influenced in any way. Progrey USA provided me with a review sample of the G150Z holder.